Re: [bug-gnulib] null vs. `NUL byte'

From:

Bruno Haible

Subject:

Re: [bug-gnulib] null vs. `NUL byte'

Date:

Tue, 29 Mar 2005 14:34:48 +0200

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Paul Eggert wrote:
> We should use the phrase "null character" or the abbrevation NUL only
> when we're talking about characters, not bytes.
But Jim _is_ talking about characters! The terminator of a C multi-byte
string is the NUL multi-byte character, It happens that this character fits
in 1 byte; therefore - in order not to confuse the reader - it's perfectly
natural to talk about a "NUL byte".
Please, let's use the "NUL byte" terminology in the context of C strings.
It's the most precise and readable that is available.
> POSIX uses the phrase "null byte"
It's less precise, because with this term you forget that you're dealing with
a character. "null byte" is also an adequate description for the elements of
uint8_t foo[100];
> Or maybe just "'\0'"?
This is not pronouncible and hurts the flow of reading.
Bruno